How to Manage Stress at Work?

In this fast-paced and highly competitive world, success cannot be achieved stress-free. With more and more projects to be finished up and deals to be achieved, professionals are going through a lot of stress. On an average, they have anywhere between 30 to 100 projects to finish and deadlines are not easy to work around.

Late night shifts, long working hours, over timings, and filling in the gap for co-workers- all add to the stress of the individual, combined with stress in personal life. There are delays in information to deal with, and interruptions and distractions that slow down the pace of work and demand more time on work.

The high paced life and work pressure have also impacted the eating and sleeping habits of people which just add to the stress. When stressed, people tend to get irritated, frustrated, and go through mood swings. However, it is important to understand that stress needs to be managed in healthier ways. Here are a few ways in which stress at work can be managed in a positive and healthy way:

1. Take a Deep Breath

One of the best ways to deal with any kind of stress or anxiety is to first take a deep breath. If a tensed meeting or work pressure is making you feel overwhelmed, take a deep breath. You need to clear your head, and a few minutes of conscious deep breathing will help restore balance in your thoughts and conduct. A simple exercise of deep inhalation and exhalation can calm down your thoughts and clear your mind and help you focus back on the task at hand.

2. Plan Your Day

Many times, the reason of stress is an unplanned day. When you do not plan your day and tasks beforehand, you tend to feel overwhelmed with work and find it chaotic to finish everything. Working 10 hours a day doesn’t guarantee completion of tasks on hand or an increased efficiency. It is a better plan that helps in execution and efficient completion of tasks.

3. Exercise

While it is true that these days, with the work pressure, people are not left with time to take care of themselves and their health, it is of utmost importance that you take out at least 30 minutes daily, if not more, to exercise. Join a gym, take up a yoga class or just go for a run in the morning. But make sure to take out time to exercise. Apart from exercise, it is also important that you eat healthy food and get a good sleep at night.

4. Prioritize

Yes, it’s true you will have 10 tasks on hand to be finished for the day and that leaves you stressed. However, it is important to understand that every task is not equally important. Learn to prioritize tasks. Once that is done, you will automatically be able to plan your work better and know which tasks need to be completed first and which can be done later.

5. Don’t React

Normally, you will feel stressed when you feel overwhelmed and when a situation feels out of control. Reacting to situations activates stress hormones and lowers down your confidence, concentration, and well-being. At such times, instead of feeling helpless and reacting to situations, try and identify what aspects of situations are under your control and which aren’t. For the ones that are, try and rectify them. The ones that aren’t, no point fretting over them.

These are some of the ways you can implement instantly whenever stressed. It is natural to feel stressed but you should not let it affect you.